Halal Vibrations: Exploring an X-Rated Muslim Sex Shop

Britain's first online sex emporium for Muslims has just opened, complete with Sharia-compliant lubricant and rabbit vibrators.

Photo by Vera Lair via Stocksy

Waterproofvibrators; kegel balls; gelatin-free lube that complies with Sharia law. Chances are, you're only going to find two of the three at your average sex shop. But now you can at the UK's very first online adult emporium for Muslims,Halal Adult Store.

The brainchild of Nottingham, UK-based businessman Hamed Zeb, 30, customers can pick from 12 products, including a silicone finger massager and a G-spot wand. The only catch? It's got to be in line with Islamic law, so don't expect bacon-flavored lubricant anytime soon.

"I really believe Muslim women are alienated from traditional sex shops," Zeb says. "The images of nudity, particularly among the more traditional kind—and even the newer generation—can put them off."

According to him, the "pornographic focus" of mainstream British sex shops can intimidate Muslim customers, particularly women—which means that Halal Adult Store is reaching out to an untapped audience. It offers a nudity-free buying experience with no explicitly X-rated tell-tale features, meaning that you could add a cock ring to your shopping basket during your lunch break if it takes your fancy.

Since its opening in December, it has served hundreds of customers who spend an average of £40 in the store. Zeb says that his clientele ranges from couples going through a rough patch to newlyweds.

But is Halal Adult Store enough to tackle the taboo—or at least encourage an open dialogue —in a community that, to outsiders, appears notoriously covert about their sex lives? Zeb is confident that it can. "My shop can be an ice breaker. There's nothing quite like it in the UK," he tells me. "I've picked certain products which can be conversation starters. If one person is talking about it positively, that's enough."

But for many of the Muslim women I interviewed for this piece—particularly those wear the hijab like 27-year-old Zubeda*—it's not just sexually explicit shop fronts in the high street that can make them uncomfortable. It's simply that they don't feel welcome.

"I can't help but feel that I'm almost 'intruding' on their idea of who a sexually adventurous woman is. Just because I dress modestly doesn't mean I don't want—or enjoy—sex."

Contrary to the often insidious and one-dimensional view of Muslim women as devout and even unempowered in mainstream media, it's unusual—and refreshing—to hear Muslim women like Zubeda celebrate their sexuality. Islamic scripture (in particular the Qur'anic chapter of Al-Baqarah) has long emphasizedwomen's right to sexual pleasure. In Muslim-majority countries, it's not uncommon for wives to seek todivorce their husbandsif they can't satisfy them sexually.

Even so, a burka-clad woman weighing up butt plugs in a mall sex shop would still be an unusual sight. With Halal Adult Store's discreet packaging, it's little wonder Zeb's store has been swamped with visitors when the site offers a safe—even invisible—space for Muslim women to find something to cater for their needs. (Which makes sense, given that his top seller is the rabbit vibrator.) Zeb insists that Muslim women, just like in any other religion, "enjoy sex and want it to be more adventurous. My store allows women to embrace this."

I ask Zeb whether he'd welcome single Muslim women, when Islamic tradition encourages intimacy only for married couples and his products are intended to prolong marriage. "When I first set up the website, I received 60 percent business from them."